Not long after their rendezvous, Kennedys feeling of elation must have been immense as he watched thePT-157rumble over to greet him. He said that the oath should be administered to me immediately, before taking off for Washington, and that it should be administered by a judicial officer of the United States. The captain radioed a warning: The destroyers are coming. What happened? It seemed that they had heard a shot but they didnt know exactly what had happened as the car sped away, and I kept on just yelling: They killed him! ENCOUNTERS WITH JACK RUBY AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS Eddie Barker: It was going to be quite an affair. Detective Bentley: I was assigned to the corner of Main and Harwood, and I was at that particular location when the presidential parade passed and made a right turn onto Main. And certainly bipartisan consensus would better serve a push for civil rights than a one-sided campaign by liberal Democrats. And I was irate. Come back towards me, turned around and went back.towards Patton. Detective Leavelle: I made a statement to him, in jest really, when I was getting him ready to transfer him downI said, Lee, I hope if anybody shoots at you, theyre as good a shot as you are, meaning, of course, that itd hit him and not me. Agent Hill: The right rear portion of his head was missing. At about 1:45 a.m., the four destroyers set out for the return trip to Rabaul, speeding north. Seconds later, the destroyer, traveling at 40 knots, slammed into PT-109, slicing it from bow to stern. Henry Wade: Aaron Ward was a justice of the peace at Parkland. And of course, when it did, Kennedy was kind of casually waving to people, Jackie sitting next to him, looking so pretty and prim. Deputy Mooney: By that time there was a number of officers up there.And we were searching, trying to find the weapon at that time. He was the youngest man and first Catholic to hold that office. During World War II, the 29th Infantry Division suffered 3,720 killed in action, 15,403 wounded in action, 462 missing in action, 526 prisoners of war, and 8,665 non-combat casualties, for a total of 28,776 casualties during 242 days of combat. I felt the automobile sharply accelerate, and in a moment or so Agent Youngblood released me. Two years later, when he ran for Congress from Boston, his father paid to send 100,000 copies to voters. I ascertained that Mrs. Johnson and Sen. Yarborough were all right. Lo against stiffening enemy resistance. The presidents been shot. We were on the 12th floor, and so we were kind of watching [Commerce Street]. How does he look? I think one broadcastersaid that Lee Harvey Oswald is in custody of the police departmenthe looked all right when he went in there, they wouldnt guarantee how he would look after he had been in custody of the Dallas police for a couple of hours, which intimated to me that they thought we were mistreating the prisoner. He had previously attended the London School of Economics and was entering graduate school at Stanford University in California when he paused, with all of America to intently listen to President Roosevelts galvanizing declaration following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor ending with a date which will live in infamy. The proposed law would ensure that anyone with a sixth-grade education would have the right to vote. I was pushed down by Agent Youngblood. was jfk in the 29th division First, while recognizing this doesnt have anything to do with what we have been talking about, he urged the organizers to exercise their substantial influence in the Negro community by putting an emphasis, which I think the Jewish community has done, on educating their children, on making them study, making them stay in school and all the rest. The looks of uncertainty, if not disbelief, on the faces of the civil rights leaders, toward a proposal that, at best, would take a generation to implement, moved Kennedy to follow on with a practical explanation for restraint in dealing with Congress. I can remember seeing the car turn right onto Houston Street off of Main, going the one short block and turning left on Elm. He was looking down in the seat he and Mrs. Kennedy, and their heads were turned toward the middle of the car looking down at something in the seat, which later turned out to be the roses and I was so afraid he was going to look the other way because there were a lot of people across the street, and we were, as far as I know, we were the only people down there in that area, and just as I yelled, Hey! to him, he started to bring his head up to look at me and just as he did the shot rang out. TO PERPETUATE THE FRIENDSHIPS WE CHERISH; TO KEEP ALIVE THE SPIRIT THAT NEVER KNEW DEFEAT; TO GLORIFY OUR DEAD, AND TO FURTHER KEEP BEFORE OUR COUNTRY, THE RECORD OF THE 29TH DIVISION IN ALL THE WARS; WE ASSOCIATE OURSELVES IN AN ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE 29TH DIVISION ASSOCIATION, THE STONEWALL BRIGADE MUSEUM (116th Infantry Regiment). Kennedy won handily. As president, Kennedy would appoint White to the Supreme Court. I entered an automobile immediately behind the ambulance. He ran right by me. Agent Hill: As we came out of the curve and began to straighten up, I was viewing the area which looked to be a park. Eventually, the men were found by two natives who were scouts for a coastwatcher, a New Zealand reserve officer doing reconnaissance. Mrs. Kennedy was completely covered with blood. It participated in the U.S. Army's supreme operation of both World Wars: The Omaha Beach invasion of D-Day in 1944 and the great Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918. It was delivered to the Navy on . No one aboard PT-109 knew how to use night vision. Kennedy and crew on the 109 stayed in reserve with a few other boats to protect against counterattack by lingering as the attacking boats withdrew. And when the ambulance pulled in, we loaded him in the ambulance, and I crawled in there with him and so did the doctor, and we rode to Parkland with him. This is a list of Casualties that the29th Infantry Division suffered during WWII. As John F. Kennedy said, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." I. He sort of put his hands up and sort of was looking around the crowd, and you know, thoughts just sort of flash through your mind. When you do that, that stops the pistol from firing. TO PERPETUATE THE FRIENDSHIPS WE CHERISH; TO KEEP ALIVE THE SPIRIT THAT NEVER KNEW DEFEAT; TO GLORIFY OUR DEAD, AND TO FURTHER KEEP BEFORE OUR COUNTRY, THE RECORD OF THE 29TH DIVISION IN ALL THE WARS; WE ASSOCIATE OURSELVES IN AN ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE 29TH DIVISION ASSOCIATION, THE STONEWALL BRIGADE MUSEUM (116th Infantry Regiment). The locals of Naru must have been stunned when they witnessed the two American men wade ashore. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. He didnt even stop. Corporal. I came over the backs of the seats, and I hung my right ankle in between the seats and in scuffling with him to get him under controlI pulled a leg muscle in my right ankle. The people had been very responsive to the president and Mrs. Kennedy, and we were very pleased. He said, I didnt shoot anybody. But I also told him, I said, Well, Lee, you strike me as a pretty intelligent individual. I said, You know, of course, that we can take the bullets in the officer and use the pistol that you had on you at the time you were arrested and run ballistics on them and prove that the bullets that killed the officer came from your pistol, dont you? He said, Yeah, I know that, but youll just have to do it. I dont know what was going on inside of him, but he struck me as a very calm individual, and he answered my questions very clearly and everything. They were saying: We think that theyre beating the hell out of him, you know. That key city, which Gerhardts men had been within sight of for three months, fell to the29th on the first day of the assault. On the open pastures surrounding Mnchen-Gladbach, Gerhardt ordered several parades to honor those 29th Division units that had gained the highly prized Distinguished Unit Citation during combat in Normandy: the 115th, 116th, and 175th Infantry, along with the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion. Can he use your phone? Go ask Johnson. So, I went across the hall into a trauma roomand I walked in and I didnt know what to call him. I never saw an officer hit him with a fist, shotgun butt, or anything else at the time he was in my presence. Kennedy, possibly doubtful of the Mark 8 and Mark 14 torpedoes abysmal performance decided to discard her torpedo tubes and convert her into purely a gunboat. This set him up for his big chance he had so longed for where he could contribute and command as an officer. But the story that would define the young officer as a hero ran much later, after his return to the States in January 1944. It was Kennedys presence, of course, that made the collision big news. Cluster offered to send the young lieutenant home, but he refused. This was the break young Jack needed to get his foot in the door and he was soon assigned as an ensign in the Naval Reserves serving in intelligence. Lieutenant Day: Captain Fritz had Marina Oswald in his office.He came up to my office and said he wanted her to look at the gun to see if she could identify it, but he didnt want to bring her out into the reporters out there in the hall. My eyes went on up to the next floor, and there was the rifle. I said: Carousel Club? The description was derived from eyewitness reports at Dealey Plaza. Purple Heart Life turned down Herseys literary experimentprobably because of its length and novelistic touchesbut the New Yorker published the story in June. A Friday night Reception at the 29th Division Museum with adult beverages and heavy snacks and the Saturday formal dinner banquet with the 29th Division Commander MG Rhodes as speaker. From a medical standpoint, I suppose he was still alive in that he did still have a heartbeat. The letter directed for Kennedy to return with the natives whereby the New Zealand forces would unite him with U.S. forces. Kennedys venerable PT boat proved its valor when the 59s crew sprinted towards Choiseul Island. For a moment I thought it was, you know, like you say, Oh, he got me! when you hear a shotyouve heard these expressions and then I sawI dont believe the president is going to make jokes like this, but before I had a chance to organize my mind, I heard a second shot and then I saw his head opened up and the blood and everything came out. No time to waste for the young Kennedy as he skippered the 109 with several other PT Boats away from the Solomons towards the Russel Islands as the US Navy prepared for the invasion of New Georgia. He said, Well, we better do it anyway. I picked the phone up then and called Mr. Aiken, at the warehouse, and got the boys name and general description and telephone number and address at Irving. As his crew gathered their strength after a full day of surviving in the unpredictable ocean, Kennedy set out once again but this time alone to swim the arduous route he knew the PT Boats had taken through the islands hoping to find a friendly vessel or a better island to gather his crew. They had written other unkind things. In early 1941, the "Blue and Gray" division was reactivated for service and became part of the first Allied assault on the Normandy beaches on D-Day (June 6, 1944), the massive invasion of western Europe . To ensure that as little as possible went wrong, Bobby directed his Civil Rights Division assistant attorney general to work full time for five weeks guarding against potential mishaps such as insufficient food and toilet facilities, or the presence of police dogs, which would draw comparisons to the Birmingham demonstrations. It was ready to fire again.I told Captain Fritz this is not the place to try to work on this gun. $13.00 - $16.00. After receiving the sympathy of presidents, ministers and monarchs, Jacqueline Kennedy looking forward, not back hosts a birthday celebration later that evening for her son John, turning 3 years old that day. I told someone that we preferred for Mrs. Kennedy to use these quarters. He would approach the dock at top speed, reversing his engines only at the last minute. The man, he just walked calmly, fooling with his gun. Kennedy reached the beach first and collapsed, vomiting salt water. I told them I was waiting for Mrs. Kennedy and for the presidents body to be placed on the plane, and would not return prior to that time. But more than moral considerations were at work in Kennedys decision. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Kennedy left for a political trip to Dallas on November 21, without providing an answer to their question. Work crews dismantled the torpedo tubes and screwed armor plating to the hulls. The Soviets were establishing missile bases in Cuba 90 miles from the tip of Florida. So, that was the decision made by the attorney general, that he should be sworn inby Judge Sarah Hughes, which, of course, was another slight irony. Determined to prove he was not spoiled, Jack joined his crew scraping and painting the hull. and all those inspired by the Blue and Gray Division. It participated in the U.S. Armys supreme operation of both World Wars: The Omaha Beach invasion of D-Day in 1944 and the great Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918. They motored away from Lumbari at about 6:30 p.m., heading northwest to Blackett Strait, between the small island of Gizo and the bigger Kolombangara. And this gun was a very rough finish, the stock was rough. Police immediately rush to the School Book Depository. I thought somebody behind me was doing the firing, and because I thought that, well, I fell down, I hit the ground. Shortly thereafter Mr. Kellerman came out of the emergency room and said, Clint, tell Jerry this is unofficial and not for release, but the man is dead. I talked to the attorney general [Robert Kennedy] and told him that his brother had been seriously wounded; that we would keep him advised as to his condition. And I just remember seeing that. Sadly two of his sailors were killed upon impact with the destroyer. In late September 1944, the 29th Division was transferred 500 miles from Brittany to southern Holland, a journey that half the division took in uncomfortable forty-and-eight boxcars, while the other half made the move in trucks and jeeps. BODY MOVED FROM PARKLAND TO AIR FORCE ONE 2:20 P.M. Some balked at going out with him. Squad Leader. Patrol Torpedo boat 109 was idling in Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands. We all drank about as much as human beings could possibly consume, but nobody got drunk. Their stories and others exploded in newspapers, with dramatic accounts of Kennedys exploits. He did have a mouse on his eye. Then Mr. Hill removed his coat and laid it over the presidents face and shoulder. I found out that as soon as I said that they immediately took it back to New York, and Cronkite, my dear friend Walter, said: You know, that aint us, folks. They came around and then the first I heard was, I thought, was a firecrackerbecause the FBI, Secret Service people that was on the back of that car, they looked down at the ground.I think they thought it was a firecrackerI thought in my mind, well, what a heck of a joke, you know, to be playing like that. The navys intelligence report on the loss of the PT-109 was also mum on the subject. And Im just walking right on by him, getting away from him.My eyes are on the car. COFFIN BEARING JFK ARRIVES AT BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL 5:25 P.M. (6:25 P.M. EST). Although his gas tanks were not even half full, Kennedy roared out to rescue more than 50 Marines trapped on a damaged landing craft that was taking on water. I think it was Sergeant Hill who was talking to the dispatcher and we gave him the names.The dispatcher advised us then that we were to bring this suspect directly to Captain Fritzs office, that he was a prime suspect in the assassination of President Kennedy and the wounding of Gov. And my boss has it on film! And thats when they got interested in me, when I said that. I thereafter talked with McGeorge Bundy and Walter Jenkins, both of whom urged that the return to Washington should not be delayed. At 24, he was already something of a celebrity. The Kennedy Curse in WWII As we got in the lobby, almost on the inside of the first floor, this policeman asked me where the stairway is. We brought him in there in front of the screen and kept him there as I recall only about four or five minutes. I told [him] that I had a boy missing over here, I dont know whether it amounts to anything or not. And I gave him his description. But he didn't. About a half-hour later, I asked someone to find out if Mrs. Kennedy would stand with us during the administration of the oath. He was now touring the country promoting war bonds and touting the PT fleet as the Allies key to victory in the Pacific. I noticed a police car coming. So then, the car proceeded on, rather jerkily, toward the intersection. Twice, other PT boats had signaled that the Tokyo Express was headed north to where the 109 was patrolling. She was not there, but she returned the call in a few minutes and said she would be at the airplane in 10 minutes. So, he says, Youll have to stand behind me and hold onto me. I says, Its no problem at all. So we both got up there, and I stood behind him, and I held onto him. Back in the States, Kennedy appeared to have lost the edge that drove him on PT-59. General [Edwin] Walker was in Dallas at the time. She was only too gracious about coming forward. What was conceived as a comparatively easy operation, however, turned out to be one of the 29ths most costly operations of World War II. Waggoner Carr: There was a rally out in front of the Texas Hotel. Japanese barges, meanwhile, were equipped with light cannons far superior to the PTs machine guns and single 20mm gun. The birthplace became a unit of the National Park Service in 1967 and opened to the public on May 29, 1969. But from late October through early November, Kennedy took the PT-59 into plenty of action from its base on the island of Vella Lavella, a few miles northwest of Kolombangara. It isn't clear if the military units were arranged differently in the universe of Star Trek, or if the discrepancy was in reality a shortcoming of the holoprogram's accuracy. After six long days, their skipper came through and they were going home. I was not aware of that at the time. Fully recovered from the debacle in Normandy, the Germans gave little ground and inflicted heavy casualties each time the 29ers launchedan attack. Im accustomed to four, five, six reporters hanging out in that hall all the time in any major case. I helpedtake the stretcher that he was on into the emergency room. Now he only wanted to get back to the little island he had left that night.His mind seemed to float away from his body. And he said, Hell, he said, dont ask me. Therefore, this is the right message. He had two 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns installed along with an additional array heavy machine guns. Collections of the U.S. National Archives and the Naval Historical Center. 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